TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Senior Silas Kipngetich and junior Abbey Zane led the Auburn men's and women's cross country teams, respectively, Friday morning at the FSU Invitational at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
Kipngetich, who earned All-South Region honors on the same course in 2018, paced the Tiger men finishing 34th overall, completing the 8k course in 25:20.7. His time was over a minute faster than his time ran two weeks ago at the season opener in Nashville.
Zane was also 34th overall, finishing the women's 5000m in 17:52.9, just four seconds off her cross country PR at that distance. The Huntvsille, Ala., native led Auburn for the second meet in a row after being the Tigers' top finisher at the Commodore Classic on Sept. 19.
"We didn't race a few runners that would normally be in our top five on both sides, but I thought the racers we had gave tremendous effort and are showing progress," Auburn cross country coach David Barnett said. "I'm confident that when we plug in our top runners over the next month the team results will reflect the improvement."
Making their 2020 debuts included senior Tommy McDonough and junior Jackson Thomas on the men's side and freshman Samantha Rogers, senior Presley Weems, and sophomore Sara Pacer on the women's side.
"We had several runners that opened their seasons and will continue to improve each week," Barnett said.
McDonough was 49th overall finishing in 25:45.7 and was the second finisher for the Auburn men. Senior Jack Rogers (25:45.7, 49th), Thomas (25:58.5) and sophomore Evan Rogers (27:51.2, 91st) completed the scoring for the Tigers.
The younger sister of Jack and Evan Rogers, Samantha Rogers was 69th overall in her Auburn debut, crossing in 18:31.4. Weems, racing for the first time since the 2019 season opener, finished in 18:35.9 (72nd), two spots ahead of Pacer (19:38.9, 74th). Junior GiGi Maddox rounded out Auburn's scoring (18:46.8, 80th).
Both programs finished ninth overall in the team standings, which included a field comprised of SEC and ACC teams.
"The main goal is to be ready for SECs at the end of the month," Barnett said. "Every decision made on training and racing is with that in mind."
Next up for the Tigers' cross country program is the UAB Blazer Invitational on October 16 in Birmingham. They will wrap up the season October 30 at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge, La.
2020 FSU INVITATIONAL
Apalachee Regional Park
Tallahassee, Fla.
Men's Results (8k)
9. Auburn, 228 pts
Auburn Individual Results
34. Silas Kipngetich, 25:20.0
49. Tommy McDonough, 25:45.7
50. Jack Rogers, 25:47.3
51. Jackson Thomas, 25:58.5
91. Evan Rogers, 27:51.2
Women's Results (5k)
9. Auburn, 262 pts
Auburn Individual Results
34. Abbey Zane, 17:52.9
69. Samantha Rogers, 18:31.4
72. Presley Weems, 18:35.9
74. Sara Pacer, 18:38.9
80. GiGi Maddox, 18:46.8
83. Hannah Tarwater, 18:56.4
87. Mercy Kiprop, 19:08.9
